Implementing a Developmental Perspective
An Overview of Challenges—Working Documents From the Provider Level
As an agency considers a youth-driven way of addressing developmental skills, they often want to know what kinds of challenges young people identify. The reality is that the challenges identified earlier in treatment are more likely to be challenges related to be health and safety or social-emotional in nature. And, as time passes and they become more comfortable with this kind of work, there are more challenges identified that are psychological and identify formation related.
A broad range of factors can cause barriers to any given challenge. The engage, equip and empower process works well to help identify exactly what area of function is causing a young person to stumble in a given challenge. To illustrate what to expect, we offer some unedited working descriptions of typical challenges and what they entail.
Challenge Areas Frequently Identified by Young People
| Physical Well-Being | Emotional & Social Well-Being |
| Stable Housing | Family/other supportive relationships |
| Health & Nutrition | Social connections |
| Financial Resources | Repairing Relationships & Decreasing Isolation |
| Psychological Well-Being | Spiritual Well-Being |
| Productivity in school, work & other settings | Positive sense of self & ability to navigate challenges |
| Identity issues | Sense of direction/purpose |
| Substance use related issues and Emotional stability/Mood | Commitment toward actions leading to sense of accomplishment |
Examples of Responding to Challenges Using the YES! Framework
Domains and Challenges—An Overview Integrating Theory and Practice
The challenges that young people identify as important to them often reflect their preparedness for handling the situations that youth and young adults must navigate. This section illustrates how the “kinds” of challenges identified by young people indicate the developmental stages that dominate their functioning. It also illustrates in significant detail the kinds of executive skills and meta-skills that are can instrumental in assisting young people to meet particular challenges and move their lives forward.
This level of analysis is valuable, but can be overwhelming. Intentional practice will lead a provider, over time, to an intuitive understanding of much of this. At that point, this content becomes more easily understood and less overwhelming.